


And Time Can do so Much

by Rambling_bones



Category: Ao no Exorcist | Blue Exorcist
Genre: F/M, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Kid Okumura Rin, Kid Okumura Yukio, Resurrection, Yuri Egin Lives
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-24
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-09 07:06:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,929
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27169741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rambling_bones/pseuds/Rambling_bones
Summary: Yuri Egin had found herself alone and freezing in a lake. She has learned that she has come back from the dead, and seven years has gone by.
Relationships: Yuri Egin & Fujimoto Shirou, Yuri Egin & Mephisto Pheles, Yuri Egin & Okumura Rin & Okumura Yukio, Yuri Egin/Fujimoto Shirou
Comments: 23
Kudos: 75





	1. From Ashes to the Sea

When Yuri Egin first awoke it was cold, and she could feel a near drowning sensation. She had no clue how she got here, but for whatever reason she was under water. The panic in her started rising, as she quickly made her way to the surface. She swam up closer to the light, until she reached the surface. Her hands eventually met the ground. Yuri could not see any of it, but she felt the soft ground beginning to bite at her bare hands. Ignoring the feeling in her hands declining, she pulled herself up onto land. 

Once there, she pulled her wet locks out of her face, and began to take in her surroundings. From what she could gather, she was somewhere in the mountains, near a stream. How she got there, and where exactly this place was, was all a mystery to her. Even stranger, was the fact that she was completely nude here. 

She panted heavily, as the elements began nibbling at her body once more. There wasn’t a person, building or things in sight. She took a breath, and curled up into herself. It wasn’t much but it was the most she could do for warmth. Yuri kept blowing into her hands, as she shivered. Snot began to trip down her nose, and her eyes watered rapidly. Barely out of the creek, she laid on the ground shivering.

More than anything right now, she felt alone. 

This was far from a new feeling for her, though. As she felt her body going increasingly limp, and her eyelids getting heavier, she couldn’t help but give a grim smile. She shut her eyes.

And just for a second, she was a fresh orphan at six, hearing the voices yelling at her and the footsteps that would walk right of her.

Her eyes opened again, and she was back in the mountains alone. The voices were gone, and not a footstep in earshot. The only sounds she could hear was that of her own breathing, and her body desperately vibrating for warmth. Yuri had no clue how much time had passed before things started to fade. Everything felt blurry, as her body slowly but surely began to give out. 

Some time had passed and she heard a new sound. The sound might have been getting louder. To be honest, in this state, she wasn’t even sure if there actually was any noise there. Either way though, the noise kept drawing near. 

Then it was followed by an incomprehensibly soft murmur. Yuri couldn’t even look at it if she wanted to. Her body was far too weak to turn her head. With one last heavy breath, her eyelids gave out.

The world around her slowly turned silent. Everything ever so slowly faded to black.

———————————————————————————————————

Hikaru Kudo had been assigned to the morning field check. It wasn’t much but every few hours, an exorcist would check the lower mountains for any threatening demons or suspicious activity. Once everything that couldn’t be seen from the watchtower was in the clear, they’d return to the watchtower building. The job was far from ideal. And so, it was handed off to just about every new guy or low rank. 

There wasn’t a blizzard today. For that- Kudo was grateful. It wasn’t warm. The mountains never were in February, but he could at least see his surroundings. Even if said surroundings were just a white expanse with the occasional rock. 

The man trudged through the snow with nothing noteworthy to report. Hikaru could hear the sound of the creek coming closer. That would be where he ends scouting. 

When he began to approach the creek, he could faintly see a dark blob in the distance. Squinting, he inched closer to the form. His eyes widened when the shape of a naked woman came into view. 

“Shit.” Hikaru hissed, muffled by his mask. He quickly grabbed his radio and pulled down his snow mask. “There is a person here. Over”

There wasn’t any response. There usually wasn’t for some time. Hikaru sighed, and decided to approach the woman. His eyes scanned her for any signs of breathing, and much to his surprise there was. She appeared to be alive, but barely. He quickly began to take off his exorcist jacket, and wrap it around her. 

Once more, he grabbed the radio, and called over it. “The person is alive. I’ll be returning to the outpost with her. Over.”

Once his finger was taken off the radio, Hikaru put it away. He pulled up his snow mask and turned to the woman before him. As he looked at the half dead woman, he was overwhelmed with pity. There was a twinge of guilt about not being to provide much more for her. He couldn’t help but wonder just how long she was stranded out there. 

He grabbed the strange woman, and lifted her onto his back. As dead weight, she wasn’t exactly light, but her height- or rather, lack thereof- was something to be grateful for. A combination of the added weight and snow made walking back quite difficult. The man groaned as his movements were now slowed down by the added weight. Unfortunately time was not a luxury the woman could afford right now. So, Hikaru trudged through, as fast as he could. The walk to the outpost office was farther than that of the watchtower. The walk was not easy, but he did make it back to the outpost. 

Once inside, Hikaru announced his entrance and set the unconscious woman down on a cot. Despite the outpost being renovated, it wasn’t exactly comfortable. After getting her off of his back, he turned to one of his coworkers.

“I’m taking her to a hospital, so I’m taking the car.” He said, while getting the keys. “Please keep an eye on the woman while I prepare the car.”

His coworker nodded in response, and Hikaru went in the direction of the car. His movements were rather shaky, and his heart was beating fast. He started the car, and brought the woman in. Quickly they drove into the small mountain town, for the hospital. 

———————————————————————-

“Master, you have a caller.” The demonic butler called out, as he spoke on the wall phone. 

“Who is it and what do they need?” The purple haired demon responded while not even bothering to look up at his Butler.

“May I get a name?” Belial asked the caller.

“Hikaru Kudo. From the Chōgoku Mountain range reconnaissance office.”

“Thank you sir. May I get a reason for this call as well?” 

“I need to get a hold of Sir Mephisto Pheles, because there was a naked woman found near a creek there. Why she decided to go skinny dipping in February weather is beyond me, but I found her on the brink of freezing to death.”

“Thank you sir. I will now carry your message over to my master.” Belial explained, and proceeded to lower the phone and turn to Sir Pheles, who was currently filing his nails. “This caller claims to be Mr. Hikaru Kudo of the Chōgoku Mountain range reconnaissance office. He wishes to reach you because he found a naked woman outside of a creek.”

“This is way below my pay grade.” Sir Pheles muttered under his breath. “Belial, tell him this isn’t worth my time. It probably was just someone going through late stage hypothermia.”

“My master doesn’t think this matter is of utmost importance. He suggests that she probably just is going through hypothermia.”

“Wait! Please just let me finish.”

“He wishes to continue, Master.”

“Fine.” Mephisto groaned, and lowered his nail file. “Belial, put him on speaker phone.”

Belial obeyed, and brought the phone closer to his master. 

“Thank you very much, Sir Pheles.”

“You’re welcome.” Despite not needing to, he forced a smile. “Please continue, onto the point. I really am failing to see why you couldn’t have brought this up to your supervisor.”

“Sorry about that, sir. I thought it would’ve been something to contact you about because of the report from the hospital.”

“Go on…” Sir Pheles sighed, twirling the nail file.

“Yes, sir. The nurse said the woman should recover smoothly and in terms of health, she will be fine. She was also reported to be crying a lot, when she awoke. Rambling on about her babies.”

“And?”

“I know, it’s not much now, but it gets weirder.” He continued. “The name she gave belonged to a woman in Tokyo. Specifically a woman who supposedly went missing, and was reported dead seven years ago.”

This was a little more interesting to Mephisto. “Did they tell you what name she gave?” 

“Unfortunately not.”

“ I see.” He responded with a slightly irritated tone. Mephisto was not very happy to hear that answer, but was intrigued enough to keep questioning. “Can you tell me what she looked like?”

“I don’t recall most of it, sir. But I do remember.” he rushed in, to defend himself before Sir Pheles could end the call. “she had long dark brown and curly hair.”

Now _this_ information began to excite Mephisto. Maybe this phone call wasn’t as worthless as he initially thought. “Was that all you could remember about the woman? Did you recall her height at all?”

“Actually,” Hikaru thought about it for a second. “Yes. I did.” He remembered that from carrying her. She was on the short side.”

Mephisto’s grin grew as the man spoke. “I have one last question for you, Mr. Kudo. Do you recall if the woman had any moles?”

Once more he had to think it over. “I think she did.” He said with some hesitation in his voice.

With that last bit of information, Mephisto’s interest level peaked. He was willing to risk being wrong, after all, he could always reset the timeline. Though, he was near certain who knew exactly who this woman was.

“Thank you very much, Mr. Hikaru Kudo. You and the rest of your staff should carry on with your normal routine. I’ll take the woman from here.” With that, Mephisto hung up the phone. This truly was a fascinating development.

—————————————————

It was a long time before Yuri woke up. When she did however, the feeling was strange. Glancing rapidly, Yuri began to scan the room. The walls were a dull white, with a small window. Above her was a tile ceiling with fluorescent lights.

“Oh thank goodness! You’re awake!” A warm voice cried. It belonged to an elderly woman dressed in scrubs. “How much do you remember?”

Yuri’s memory was a blur. The last things she could remember was giving birth and then escaping from someone- who?- she couldn’t remember. She was on a man’s back, as he held her children. It didn’t feel scary though. She felt safe and at peace as she held onto him. Then she fell. After that was her weird dream. In her dream she was nude and waking up in a lake or something. Then she nearly froze to death. And now here she was, lying awake in a hospital. 

Her eyes shifted from the ceiling over to the old nurse. “My children…” she began with a weak voice. “Do you know where they are?”

The nurse looked apologetic when she heard the question. “I don’t. The young man that found you said you were alone.”

“I see,” Yuri shifted her eyes down to the tiled floor. “Found?”

“Yes. You were found naked and unconscious next to a creek. He said that you were on the brink of freezing to death.”

Was that not a dream? What in the world was she doing in a creek? 

The nurse took note of her perplexed expression. The way her eyes darted in all directions, in a fruitless attempt to make sense of it all. “I understand this is a lot to take in.” She began, setting a tanned hand on her shoulder. “Unfortunately, I cannot tell you what I do not know. I have no idea how you got there, or what you were doing there. That being said, I can tell you that you don’t have much time left here. You should be cleared for release after a day.”

That was a relief. She looked over at the nurse again, with a weak smile. “Do you think I can see my children after this?” 

The nurse tried to keep her annoyance from showing. “Once more, I don’t know.” She answered. “I need a name, mam.”

“Sorry,” Yuri mumbled. “My name?” looked at the ceiling, and thought about it for a while. It rather annoyed her that her memory was currently empty. “Yuri.” She finally recalled. “Yuri Egin.”

“Thank you.” She wrote her name down on her clipboard. “I can go ahead and put you in the system now, Ms. Egin.”

There was a little bit of small talk before the nurse left. Apparently the woman had been doing a long shift before Yuri had woken up. 

Now alone once more, Yuri decided to take in her surroundings and tried to remember what all happened. Did she fall into the lake when she fell off the man’s back? Who was the man? What were they running from? And who found her? Where was this hospital anyway? It didn’t look like any True Cross hospital. 

True Cross. Finally, something of an answer. It started coming back to her a little more, she was running from the order after giving birth, and ended up in the mountains. Eventually Yuri had fallen back asleep as she tried to piece everything back together.

She didn’t sleep for long though. For a second time, the same nurse was standing over her as she woke up. 

“Ms. Egin, you have a visitor.” 

A half asleep Yuri nodded in acknowledgment.

The older woman then walked over to the door and opened it. “Come in, sir.”

Behind the door was a tall man. He was dressed in white from head to toe. In his hands was a gift basket. “Thank you very much, sweet nurse.” He smiled at the woman, as he entered the room. 

Yuri took a look at the man before her and was a little surprised. “Sir Pheles?” She asked, while raising an eyebrow.

“Hello there, Miss Egin. Long time, no see.” He gave her a grin, and set the gift basket down on the table beside her. “I am glad that you seem to be in better health.”

“Thank you for the gift basket.” she said, half-heartedly. The gesture was sweet and she didn’t want to seem ungrateful, but there was just a lot on her mind.

Mephisto turned over to the nurse. “Mam, if you do not mind, could I speak with this lovely woman alone?”

“It’s okay,” The nurse responded, as she exited the room. 

Mephisto slowly watched the door shut, before turning to Yuri. His initial gentleman-like atmosphere began to fade, and in turn became one of interest. “It’s nice to welcome you back to the land of the living, Miss Egin.”

Yuri’s happy face rapidly formed into one of confusion and panic. “Welcome back?” She repeated out loud, lost. 

“I understand this news is a lot for you to take in,” Mephisto began, “But you had died seven years ago, on the Blue Night.”

“The Blue Night…?”

“We will go over all of that when you are in better shape, but for now, I want to know how you are feeling.”

“Out of it,” Yuri admitted sheepishly. “I'm sorry, everything has been a lot for me to process.”

“I don’t blame you. I think any human would have trouble understanding their own death. I imagine, coming back would not be any easier to comprehend.”

Yuri shook her head in agreement. It took her a second to speak again, but she looked at Mephisto almost pleading. “Sir Pheles,” her voice wavered a bit as she started her question. “How are my sons?”

Mephisto was expecting this question, and he responded almost robotically. “We will go over that when you are feeling better as well.” He answered, a bit coldly. “For now it’s best for you to focus on your health and recovery, Miss Egin.”

“I understand,” Yuri was rather upset with the answer she got, but didn’t push the subject further. As much as she didn’t want it to be, at the moment, Mephisto Pheles was her only known link to the world and the past seven years. 

As they sat in silence for a while, Mephisto concluded that Yuri currently didn’t have any more questions to ask. “So Miss Egin, I am sure you recall, but you did bear the sons of Satan.”

“Yeah?” Yuri said, not seeing the point in that comment.

“Well then I do believe you are aware of the reputation that your name alone brings.”

“I am..” she admitted, returning to reality as she remembered it.

“Sharing a name with a dead woman, could sound some alarms, sure, but if it was just that we could jump through some hoops and make it work. But sharing a name with an _infamous_ dead woman, is not exactly ideal.”

He was right, Yuri thought while nodding her head in agreement. 

“Thankfully, you are far more famous in name than you are in face.” Mephisto continued on in spite of Yuri being lost. “I highly doubt you need to change your appearance much, if at all. All of the Grigori had been replaced, and your files have been rather muddy to say the least. In my humble opinion, the older arc knights are probably the only ones you need to watch out for in that regard. _Your name however_ ” Mephisto turned around towards her as he said that last part. “is a dead giveaway. In the past seven years there has not been a single graduating exwire that doesn’t know about the traitorous witch, Yuri Egin.”

Yuri froze upon hearing that. That information was not a shock to her, no, but something about being that hated, hurt. How deep did the hatred surrounding her run?

“I know it’s a lot to ask of you, so I’m not going to rush it, but I would advise you to look into changing your name. Your last name in particular.”

Her thick brows narrowed in confusion. She still was struggling to understand it all, but let him continue on. 

“Yuri is a common enough name that you can probably get away with it.” Mephisto explained. “If you wish to keep it, most likely you can. Once paired with your last name though, it’s a red flag.” He sighed in relief now that she seemed to understand what he was getting at. “I know it’s a lot of me to ask of you, so I will give you time, and let you choose a new last name. I can take care of creating new documentation for you, but I would rather do it sooner than later.”

“Okay.” Yuri’s answer was a quick one. She was going to have to think this over. “Thank you, Sir Pheles. I’ll get back to you on it soon.”

Mephisto nodded, and tried to go back to his initial tone. “Now that we got _that_ mess out of the way, I wanted to invite you over Miss Yuri. When you’re no longer hospitalized, of course.”

Yuri was taken back a bit by the suggestion and the sudden name change. She didn’t want to say no, but she didn’t expect someone as powerful as Sir Pheles to invite someone as low ranked as her over. 

“I see your hesitation, but please Miss Yuri, I insist.” He gestured warmly. “You don’t have anywhere else to go. At the very least, allow me to accommodate you until you can get back on your feet.”

Yuri felt herself a strange feeling of comfort when she heard Mephisto’s offer. “Thank you very much, Sir Pheles.” She gave him a weak smile, and tried to keep her eyes from watering. Knowing how hated she truly was, it made her happy to know at least _someone_ was willing to help her.

“Now Miss. Yuri, please rest well, and I wish you a speedy recovery. I must be going now, but I’ll be sure to get you, when you are discharged.”

“Thank you. I’ll see you soon then,” With that, Yuri bid the man goodbye. As the door shut, she turned on her side. Staring at the wall, she worked on getting some shut-eye.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you very much for reading! I am really excited to work on this AU, and I had developed a bit with various people on Discord. I don't know how many of you know it but I took the name of this fic from the song, "Unchained Melody."
> 
> I tagged Shiro since I do plan on having him come in soon. Shiro does not make an appearance in this chapter but he will be coming in soon. Additionally, Rin and Yukio do not appear in this chapter, but they will be coming soon with Shiro. Similarly, I don't think I will write this as a complete Shiro/Yuri ship fic, but because I want a lot of interactions with these two, I felt I should go ahead and tag it. Outside of those, I'll tag more things if need be.


	2. A Library of Funerals

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Now discharged from the hospital, Yuri is seeking answers about the last seven years in the True Cross Archive room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, here is Chapter 2! I am really excited to keep writing this story and AU. I hope you all enjoy. :).

“Hey,” a voice called out to a sleepy Yuri. “I hope you are having a good morning,” the nurse was standing over her. Once Yuri appeared to be awake and able to acknowledge her, she spoke again. “Congratulations Ms. Egin, it looks like you're free to go.”

Yuri felt a rush of relief as she was given the okay to leave. The discharge process wasn’t too bad, but she was happy for it to finally be over.

Outside, Sir Pheles has been waiting for her. He greeted Yuri with a grin, as he pulled out a key. “It’s nice to see you on this fine morning, Miss Yuri. You do look lovely today.

“You’re too kind, Sir Pheles.” Yuri said with a laugh before following him.

Sir Pheles opened the door to a bright pink limousine, and motioned for Yuri to get inside. Yuri obeyed, and Mephisto sat down beside her. The ride was quiet for a while, before Mephisto decided to break the silence.

“There seems to be a lot on your mind, Miss Yuri.” He observed, as she was fiddling with her thumbs.

Yuri nodded. “I’m sorry… I am worried and confused, that’s all.”

“I see.” Mephisto gave her a key. “When we arrive at the manor, you can get settled in a bit more. I apologize that you have to wear such hideous clothing.”

Yuri was taken back by that comment. “It was from the hospital gift shop.” She explained feeling a little hurt. “The nurse bought them for me.”

“That explains it.” Mephisto muttered, eyeing up the mismatched colors of her outfit. “Not to worry, we will find you something.”

Yuri gave a compliant nod, and stared out the window. The car was silent once more.

They did not talk much the rest of the way to Sir Pheles’ Manor, nor when getting out of the car. Belial was ordered to tend to the guest, and another servant was told to prepare her room.

Yuri protested, insisting they didn’t need to do all of that, but it all fell on deaf ears. Soon enough she was having a room, large bed and bath all being prepped for her.

Once dressed in a new set of clothes, she was escorted to a large dining hall with Sir Pheles. The whole display was rather overwhelming. Before them, there was a feast meant for at least ten. Yet it was only Sir Pheles and herself sitting at the table.

“I hope you are settling well,” Mephisto smiled at her, as he sipped from his wine glass.

“I am. Thank you,” Yuri nodded. She sipped from her own glass. She then set it down, and her eyes narrowed. “I appreciate all you’ve done for me, I really do. But can you please tell me where my sons are?”

“So impatient…” Mephisto signed under his breath. She was not in the mood for waiting, and there wasn’t much he could do about it. “I have a key to the True Cross Archives.” He admitted. “It will guide you through the last seven years, but,” he began, looking Yuri dead in the eye, as his voice dropped. “you can see it,

after we finish supper. The servants worked very hard to make this.”

“Yes sir,” Yuri responded.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Once Yuri finished her plate, she turned to Mephisto. He sighed, and summoned the key. “Here you go. I hope you are satisfied with the documents in there.”

“Thank you,” Yuri gave Mephisto a smile, as she took the key from his hand and held it close to her. “Thank you for dinner, and the key.”

“You are most welcome, Miss Yuri.” Mephisto answered, as he summoned his servants to clean up the dinner mess. Another servant followed Yuri to the bedroom.

“Please make sure the guest is cleaned up before her journey.” Mephisto called out.

The servant listened, and did as asked. Once cleaned up, the servant left her alone in the guest bedroom.

Yuri turned the key in the bedroom’s lock. She then turned the door handle, and was transported to a large room full of drawers and files. The True Cross Archive room. Yuri had no idea how much Mephisto actually knew on the subject of her friends. It was very possible he was playing dumb, and equally possible that he wasn’t. Sir Pheles never was the type to be clear, after all. What Yuri did know though, was that whatever information she had wanted on her friends, at least some of it, would be here.

She scaled the large room, as she was being bombarded by shelves worth of files. Despite this room belonging to the Japan branch the archives sorting process defaulted to English. She sighed as she made her way over to find information on her friends. 

Going alphabetically, she started with Jenny. She walked over to the “J” shelves and began scanning.

“Je-“ she muttered. “Jen…” Yuri’s eyes locked in. “There!” She pulled down the file.

JENNY KAL.

AGE: 30

BLOOD TYPE: O

HEIGHT: 158cm

WEIGHT: 65kg

Yuri’s eyes widened, when she read the information, right below Jenny’s weight.

STATUS: MISSING.

Yuri felt a bad feeling in her gut as she began to skim the pages of the small file. She was frantically reading for some sort of explanation on what happened to Jenny. Where Jenny was seen last? What happened to her. And yet, there was nothing. Yuri then read it again, slowly and carefully. Once more, nothing. She sighed. It was hopeless. The only information on the file was notes about Jenny’s exwire years, and bare bones information on asylum. She knew it was foolish, but a small part of Yuri wanted to believe that Jenny was still out there.

Feeling defeated, Yuri returned the file, and decided to move onto her next friend. Next on the list was Rick. Due to the spacing between the letters, it took Yuri a short while to find the “R” section. Eventually she found it. And with a little more digging she found the “Ri”.

RICHARD LINCOLN,

AGE: 34.

BLOOD TYPE: B

HEIGHT: 170cm

WEIGHT: 70kg

Once more, Yuri could feel her heart dropping. The bold black text felt like a stab to the heart.

STATUS: DECEASED.

She took a breath, and tried to breath. Yuri tried everything she could to try and stay calm as she read the file. There were no details on his exact death. No body was reported to be found. She took a breath, put the file away before her eyes began watering.

Yuri stood in silence for a few seconds, before looking for the next file. She turned over to the S section, with a pain in her chest. Walking over towards it, she decided to see how Shiro has- or had if he wasn’t still alive, in the past six years.

She kept walking to the section until, “Satan”, caught her eyes instead. The name appeared to be large enough to warrant its own section of files. She walked over to it and began shuffling through them.

Then once more, her eyes rapidly shifted to one folder.

“Satan’s spawn.”

She quickly opened it up, and pulled it out. There weren't any photos, just a 3 page long journal report.

She read it through. She then read it again. Her hands had been shaking as she read it, and frankly she couldn’t tell if they were shaking from sadness or anger. The paper had been stained, and her tears smudged some of the ink.

“...he… he didn’t.” She muttered between breaths, as she tried to make sense of the entire document. She put it down, and tried to read it again. This was definitely Shiro’s writing style and handwriting, she had proofread a lot of the reports for him to recognize it but it didn’t sound like him.

Well, it sort of did. Yuri did know Shiro’s temper. But he wasn’t a murderer… right?

She then thought about when Rin was born. The image of him stabbing the newborn babe flashed in her mind. She quickly felt sick to her stomach.

She put the report back into the folder, and slid it back in place. Some of the text was already rendered illegible from her tears, especially when it got to her sons’ deaths. It hurt, but it probably was best to avoid ruining the report any further.

Yuri wiped her runny nose on the yukata sleeve. She took a good long second to stare further down at the “S” section. She considered it for a second, but turned her back to the files. After checking to see if the files room was mostly how she left it, she made her way to the door. Yuri pulled out the key Sir Pheles had given her, and turned it inside the lock.

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Miss Yuri,” Mephisto stared over her, as if he had been waiting on her to stumble out of the door. “I see you have returned. How was it? I hope you have found some satisfactory answers about the past seven years.”

“Sir Pheles..” Yuri started, “Do you know where Shiro Fujimoto has been the last seven years?” She asked, trying to hide her cracking voice.

“Is there a reason you need to know?” He asked, raising an eyebrow.

Yuri shook her head. She was never a good liar, and even her body language failed her. “I simply want to see him again.” She said, forcing a smile below her puffy eyes.

“I see.” Mephisto disregarded her tear stained cheeks. He thought about it for a second and then summoned a small piece of paper. On it, was the address to a monastery. “If you wish to see Fujimoto again, you will find him here.”

Yuri looked at the card as she read the address. “Thank you Sir Pheles.”

“It was my pleasure.” Mephisto grinned at her, as he gave her some money.

Yuri glanced at the money he placed in her hand. It wasn’t much, only a single bill, but she appreciated it. She opened her mouth to speak, but Mephisto cut her off.

“Before you go.” He snapped his fingers for a jacket. “I think it would be beneficial for you to be dressed for the weather this time around.”

Yuri let out a laugh, as she took the winter coat from Mephisto. “Once more thank you for everything.” She knew she’s been saying it a lot lately, but she really was grateful for his hospitality. “Have a good night, Sir Pheles.” Yuri bid him goodbye with a smile, as she left for the bus stop.

The night was cold as Yuri waited at the bus stop for a while. Honestly, she was grateful just to have a coat this time, as the February weather was not very forgiving.

When the bus finally arrived, she took the card out of her coat pocket, and sat down. She read it, and flipped it over a few times. Then Yuri put it back in her pocket and fiddled with her thumbs.

The anticipation was Hell. She had no idea how to bring this up to Shiro. Or how to feel about him. He was her friend, yes. She found it hard to believe he’d actually do this, but the report, _his_ report was there. The fiddling grew faster, and more tense. If there was anything she wanted to get out of this visit, it was simply to know why. Particularly why he did all of this. And why he waited for her to die to kill her children. That second thought, made her wince.

As the driver called her stop, Yuri felt herself going cold to the core. She walked off slowly, and thanked the driver. Her feet gradually stepped off the stairs, and onto the pavement. Across the street from her was her destination.

Her feet felt heavy, as she walked across to the monastery. She could feel a growing weight on her shoulder the closer she inched her way over.

Yuri thought to herself as she took a breath. Her fingers bent and released one by one, as she walked up the monastery steps.

Now at the door, her whole body felt frozen. She gave a weak knock, and a felt lump rapidly growing in her throat. She closed her eyes and breathed, waiting for the door open.

It was not Shiro who answered.

Rather, it was a younger man with jagged blonde hair. He eyed up the woman before him, before turning his head around. “Father! Someone has some to see you!” He shouted over his shoulder.

There were a few seconds of transition, as Yuri heard footsteps and a quieter set following them.

“Jesus… Why are people coming here this late…” she heard him grumble to the blonde haired man. Her ears also perked up at the sound of giggling behind him.

Shiro finally came into her view.

With widening eyes, Yuri stared at him. Her expression had completely changed. She already could feel tears of joy, as she saw a pair of boys surrounding him. One was peeking from behind his leg. He had been scanning her like a nervous puppy. The other hung from Shiro’s back with his arms and legs wrapped around him.

“I knew you wouldn’t…” she cried, giving him a smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A really short drabble, of how I imagined Shiro's report:
> 
> Satan’s spawn had been rendered temporarily immobilized by the blessed silver and the cold of the snow. I took the opportunity to exorcise Satan’s spawn. The Koma sword was used to split the heart from the body. Then once more for decapitation of the demon. With the demon taken care of, the weaker spawn was exorcised with the Koma Sword shortly thereafter.


	3. She was Pushing up Daisies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yuri finally comes to the monastery to see Shiro again.

Shiro Fujimoto was sitting down on a couch in front of the TV. He wasn’t particularly interested in what was on the TV, after all it was the fifth time that movie was on. However, the boys insisted he should watch the movie with them, so here he was. Yukio sat down right next to him, covered in a blanket. Rin never sat properly and today was no exception- he was sitting on the back of the worn sofa, staring intensely at the dancing lion, warthog and meerkat on screen. 

Unfortunately for the twins, the movie night had been cut short. From across the hall, Izumi had been calling him. “Father! Someone has come to see you!”

Shiro looked apologetically at the disappointed faces on his boys as he started getting up, “Sorry guys.” 

The boys nodded, silently accepting his apology. Rin hopped on his back, interested, and Yukio trailed behind them. 

“Jesus…” Shiro muttered on his way to the door. “Why are people coming here this late?”

Rin found his grumbling funny, but Yukio remained mostly quiet. 

He eventually passed Izumi and came into full view of the door. “Hey, I’m sorry, but right now,” Shiro said, as he didn’t even bother to look at the visitor, “isn-” he froze once he finally made eye contact with his visitor. The way she was crying, and her voice…

She was supposed to be dead.

“Please give me a moment.” Shiro, forced a smile, before shutting the door in her face. He set Rin down, and turned over towards Yukio. 

“Yukio.” The boy’s eyes had widened and quickly became more alert. He knew this voice. It was the voice his Dad uses when the bad demons are nearby. “Take your brother upstairs for me. This is going to take some time.”

Yukio nodded and grabbed his brother.

“But I want to talk to the lady!” Rin whined out as his brother held his hand and pulled in the direction of their bedroom. 

Shiro sighed, and waited until the pair was outside before turning around. Once they were gone, he stared at the woman before him. She was reaching out a hand, her face wide eyed and eager.

The expression was short lived though as Shiro shot her with a glare. Yuri began to lower her hand as Shiro reached over to draw his weapon.

She glanced over at the gun then back at the cold expression on Shiro’s face. Her legs started to feel weak, and Yuri slowly took a step back, and then another. “There is no need for that...” her voice was meek as she lifted her hands. 

Shiro remained unmoved. The expression he was giving her was not one of her old friend, but of a senior exorcist. Unlike Yuri’s, his voice was like a knife. _"_ _What are you?”_

The words carved at her, and she couldn’t help but feel hurt at his assumption. Yuri tried to keep a brave face. After all, she couldn’t exactly blame him for that assumption. “I know it’s a lot to take in,” Yuri began, “but it’s actually me,”

The gun stayed pointed at her. Shiro’s face did not change, outside an eyebrow being raised in suspicion. His finger circled the trigger, and he furrowed his brows.

“Shiro, please.” Yuri could feel the desperation in her voice growing, and sweat beginning to drip from her forehead. Her whole body was frozen now. “It doesn’t make sense to me either, but please, trust me.”

“Yuri Egin died seven years ago.” His voice was shaked more this time but he was confident in the matter. The gun once more remained pointed in her direction. He took a sharp inhale, and then swallowed down the somber. “I will ask again, what are you?”

As the angry eyes bore into her, Yuri struggled to respond to his question. She stood there with her eyes lowered. For whatever reason though, Shiro did not shoot. He did not move a muscle as he remained with the gun directed at her. For whatever reason, he could not shoot.

“She died in my arms,” he started to mutter, keeping the gun in place. Yuri couldn’t tell if this was meant for her for himself. “I… I even cremated her. I scattered her ashes into the sea.” His voice began to crack as the weapon remained unmoving. “There just no-”

Shiro snapped out of his rambling by an all too familiar sound. _Da Nun_. He could feel a sense of dread building up in him. _Da Nun._ Keeping the gun pointed at Yuri, he reached for his phone that was blasting the Jaws theme.

“What do you want, clown?” he hissed, realigning all his anger towards the caller.

“Calm yourself…” Mephisto said with a smug tone. “I was just calling you because I learned some important information that I thought you might want to know. But considering your attitude, maybe it wasn’t all that important…”

“Well?”

“That’s a bit rude don’t you think?” Mephisto sighed with clear irritation. “You really are no fun Fujimoto.”

“Spit it out.”

“So impatient…” he muttered. “Anyway, an old friend of yours happened to give me a visit.”

Shiro froze for a second. He turned around at Yuri as Mephisto continued to speak.

“Ms. dearly departed, seemed to come back to us. Why, I have no idea, but she wished to pay you a visit.” As he spoke, the corners of Mephisto’s mouth widened. “I thought it would be a good idea to give you a call. You know, before you do something stupid like shoot her.”

Ever so slightly, Shiro lowered his weapon. He took a step closer to Yuri. His hand was far from confident as he reached out to touch her shoulder. 

It was warm. It was cozy. It was familiar. Shiro felt a sense of nostalgia with the whole ordeal. While Yuri stood there still, Shiro meticulously scanned her. She didn’t dare move a muscle as his eyes scoured her from head to toe. Yuri stayed there, shoulders tense, eyes closed, with her fingers balled up into a fist. She swallowed, as she felt Shiro’s arms rise up again…

...pulling her in closer? Cautiously, Yuri opened an eye to see Shiro with his arms wrapped around her in a hug. 

“You haven’t aged a day…” he murmured.

Yuri peered back at him, finally getting a good view of his face. She wished she could say the same for him, but at just a little over forty he looked to be pushing fifty. She opened her mouth to speak, but no words came out. Instead, she returned his embrace. 

Shiro decided to take her hand as he pulled away from the hug. “Here, I’ll take you inside.” He gave her a faint smile, and started towards the door. Once inside, he sat her down on the couch. He turned around towards the upstairs.

As Shiro left, Yuri glanced around the building. There were still some toys scattered on the floor, along with some broken crayons and drawings. Right next to drawings was a neat stack of books. She got off the couch and picked up one of the drawings and one of the books. 

To be frank, she had no idea what it was. Yuri’s guess was that it was a cat with a sword and pirate hat. Yuri smiled at the little name signed in the corner. She then shifted away from the drawing to examine the book. She opened it up and began to read it. only to hear a voice.

“What’s that lady doing with Yukio’s book?” 

She turned around to see a boy, most likely Rin, with a confused expression as he was followed by a boy hiding behind a slightly apologetic Shiro. 

“Both of you sit down,” Shiro instructed the boys, and they took a seat. “I want you to meet someone.” 

The boys obeyed. Despite staying close to their father, both of them gave Yuri intrigued looks. Yuri took a deep breath in and tried to calm herself.

“This here, is your mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! I have a lot of love for this AU, and I am really happy to keep working on it. Sorry for both the near month long delay, and the fact that this chapter is shorter than the last two, but I really wanted to leave off where I did. A special thanks to Rynoa who proofread this for me. As well as everyone in my discord server who helped me develop this AU, and the to Aoex writer's discord server who helped me think of the right words lol.


	4. Lost Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The twins finally meet their mom. Yuri reflects on the past seven years.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is more of a light-hearted fluff chapter, but it was fun for me to write. Thank you all for being patient with me, and I hope you enjoy this next chapter.

“This here, is your mother.” Shiro’s voice was crisp and clear. He motioned over to the woman sitting next to the boys.

Both of them stayed near their father, but the twins started eyeing her up for examination. As far as Rin could tell, she looked exactly like Yukio. From her brown hair, to her moles and the color of her eyes. 

Yukio took interest in the woman too. He squinted, almost suspicious of her. She did look a lot like how he pictured his birth mother– dark hair, blue- maybe green eyes, and possibly moles– but she also didn’t. Yukio had tried to draw his real parents many times before, but no matter how hard he tried, he could never grasp a clear image of what she would look like. She was far prettier, and appeared much kinder than he could even imagine. 

No one said anything as both of the boys kept their eyes locked on her. The silence made Yuri’s stomach stir, and she felt the air getting colder. She could feel their little eyes staring at every detail of her. Time felt slower as they just looked. Despite this, she tried her best to keep smiling for them. 

Eventually though, Yukio began to creep away from Shiro and come closer to the woman. He greeted her shyly, and glanced up at her face. “It’s nice to meet you, Miss.”

Yuri let out a breath, and looked down at him fondly. “It’s really nice to meet you too, Yukio.”

Yukio remained cautious, but positive. Rin, on the other hand, stayed by his father’s side. He watched Yukio carefully, as Yukio peered at her. His eyes moved rapidly around her body. 

“How many moles do you have?” he asked.

The question got a laugh out of Yuri. “A lot. But I need to count mine.”

Yukio giggled. The boy then thought about his next actions. He awkwardly held his arms open for a hug. That’s what he was supposed to do with a mom, right?

Yuri pulled him in, and proceeded to hug him. Then she peeked out towards Rin, and motioned for him to come forward. 

Rin followed her command and left the safety of his father’s arm to come near her. Normally, he wasn’t this shy around strangers, but his mother was not someone he wanted to meet. If he was being honest, he long since resolved her to be dead in his mind. He knew nothing about her, and preferred it that way. 

His voice was shy and uncertain, but he finally spoke. “Hi, Miss.” He said, walking towards her, until he reached her arms. She had loosened her grip on Yukio, to make some room for him. To his surprise, her hugs felt warm. 

“I’ve waited so long for this.” She muttered, while holding both of the boys close. “I’m happy, I can meet you, Rin.”

Rin felt odd. Most adults didn’t want to meet him at all. He blinked, awkwardly hugging her back. “Thanks,” 

Yuri held onto them for a while. It felt so nice to have this. To be able to hold her sons in her arms and have them here. 

Rin pulled away, and then decided to ask his first question. “What’s your favorite food?”

“Hmm… let me think. There’s a lot of really good foods out there.” She gave it a second before deciding on her answer. “Ozoni.”

Rin thought it over. “I don’t know how to make it yet, but I can try it! I’m still working on rice balls and fish though.” 

“That sounds delicious, do you like to cook?”

“I like it. I’m still learning though. I made the bowl cry a few times.”

While she had no clue what that meant, Rin’s phrasing made her laugh. “I’m sure you are a great cook, sweetie.”

Rin smiled at that and the three kept talking for a while. At one point, Rin even pulled her arm and dragged Yuri to their room. He grinned the whole way up the stairs, going on about the stuff he wants to show her. Once there, he examined the room and began rambling.

Rin would point to the bed and explain to her that the bottom bunk was his, and the top belonged to Yukio. Once he finished with the bed, Rin went over to his bookshelf, and carefully brought down a lego Death Star to show her. “It took me, Yukio and Father Fujimoto a really long time to build this. But it looks so cool!” he explained while proudly holding it up for Yuri to see. 

Yukio then chimed in with, “Rin dropped it a few times, so we had to do it over again.”

“It was an accident!” 

Yuri chuckled and gave Rin a warm smile. “You all did a really good job building it, even if you had to redo it.”

Rin seemed to cheer right back up, and Yukio decided to pull on Yuri’s arm this time. Unlike Rin he only gave it a slight tug. He brought her over to their desk, which was mostly Yukio’s. There was a large selection of books, and papers. He opened a book up, it was about plants, and proceeded to point at the pictures in it. He gave long explanations about them. Going on about their scientific names, and their use. At first he was nervous showing her, but when she actually seemed interested in hearing about them, he kept going.

———————————————————————————————————

As the conversation died down, they returned to the living room. Yukio had settled down on the couch with a book. Meanwhile Rin had his hand holding his arm. Twiddling his thumbs he stared at the floor. Yuri turned towards him. “Rin, you’ve been quiet. Is everything okay?”

He shook his head and answered in a low voice, “You’re going to take us back, aren’t you?”

Yuri blinked in confusion. “What do you mean?”

“Since you are my mom and all… Father Fujimoto won’t be our Dad anymore, right?” He tried his best to keep composure, but Yuri could see his eyes starting to water. “You seem really nice, and I had fun, but I don’t want to go.”

Yuri squatted down beside him. “I see. But what makes you think that?”

“Because you’re our mom? Our 

mom, so doesn’t that mean we have to go?”

Yuri was silent. She pondered for a bit before speaking again. “I don’t know what all is going to happen next.” She paused to breathe. There was a heavy feeling as she continued. “But I won’t take you away, okay?”

Rin shook his head, and leaned in toward her. “Really?”

Yuri’s eyes widened at first when Rin cuddled her, but she slowly brought her hands down towards his back, as she comforted him. “Really. It’s going to be okay.”

Rin held onto her, and she began to rub his back to soothe him. He sniffled, and talked a little in a sob, but it was mostly incoherent. When he pulled away, he wiped his nose. He got up, only for his stomach to growl. “I’m getting hungry. I’m going to ask Dad what’s for dinner.”

Yuri followed him to, and gave Shiro a smile as Rin tugged on his cassock and asked him about food. Shiro sighed, and agreed to get on with dinner. 

“Maybe I can help make something,” Yuri offered. There was a sense of awkwardness in her voice but she tried to help. “I can make some pretty good stews.” 

“It’s okay.” Shiro answered. “You’re the guest, so I don’t want you to feel obligated to all of this.”

“It’s really no hassle. Besides, I enjoy cooking.”

“Thank you, but don’t worry about it.” Shiro headed over into the kitchen, as Rin followed him. 

“Dad?” He tugged on his cassock again. “Can I help you?” His voice dropped to a whisper, “I want to make something for her.”

Yuri watched as the two of them went into the kitchen and started to prepare dinner. Rin looked like he was whispering something, and Shiro nodded. Then the two of them started to get to work. 

Shiro pulled out a large bowl, and some measuring cups. Then he listed off some ingredients for Rin to grab, while he grabbed the others. At the kitchen table, Yuri saw the two of them scavenging for ingredients. Rin looked so excited to be running around, and gathering everything. She loved seeing him smile, as he’d bring Shiro cabbage, eggs, and more. Still, Yuri couldn’t help but feel a sense of sadness while watching him too. 

Shiro would fill up the measuring cups, and then help Rin pour them into the bowl. His hands would wrap around Rin’s, carefully stabilizing the glass cup. His voice was soft as he instructed Rin to slow down. It was unusual seeing him be so gentle. She never exactly believed Shiro was incapable of kindness or anything, he always had it in him, but Yuri had never seen him like this. And because of that, she found herself staring at both of them for long periods of time as they continued working. She kept watching as they mixed ingredients together and as they cut up the cabbage and pork.

She hated it, but watching them cook together, hurt. She sighed, and tried to focus on something else. It was nice to know that her kids were in good hands, and that they had someone who loved and cared for them all this time. Shutting her eyes, Yuri tried again, to focus on something else. She should be happy for them. Her fingers balled into a loose fist, and she took another breath. In and out. She glanced at them again with a weak smile. “It smells really good.”

Rin returned the grin, as Shiro was grilling. “Thank you! I hope you like it!”

———————————————————————————————————

Dinner was good, and Yuri was impressed by how well everything came out. Rin was only seven, and Shiro never cooked anything beyond pre-packaged convenience store food. As she was eating, Rin had observed her carefully. His eyes were locked on her, awaiting her reaction. 

“Did you like it?” He asked once she finished eating. “It’s my first time trying okonomiyaki.”

Yuri gave him a pleased look. “You did a great job! I am proud of you.”

Rin’s eyes widened, and the corners of his mouth grew. “Thank you.” he beamed.

“You’re welcome”

While Rin was gleaming over his mother’s praise, Shiro came up from behind him. “You did good with dinner, but you need to help your brother out with the dishes, okay?”

“Okay…” Rin answered, with his voice fading. 

“And then you two knuckleheads need to get ready for bed, okay?”

“Okay.” Rin proceeded to grab his plate and head to the sink. 

Once Rin headed off to the sink, Shiro sat down next to Yuri. He let out a breath. “I know it’s probably a lot, but I hope you’re settling in okay.”

“Thank you. It’s been an adjustment.” Yuri let out a shy laugh.

“I can imagine.” Shiro shrugged. “Speaking of which, how long has it been since… y'know?” he motioned to her.

It took Yuri a second. “Oh.. Oh!” She thought about it. “A few days. Give or take.”

“Oh. I see.” He paused. He couldn’t help but recall the events leading up to her death. First the birth, then their escape, followed by some preparation to escape his hideout. And then after that… his face started to grow red. Shiro’s voice lowered. “How much do you remember? Before you, y’know?” He asked, making a little noise while moving his fingers over his neck. 

The sudden embarrassment in Shiro was strange, but Yuri was still honest. “Admittedly, a lot of it is still blurry. Did something happen?”

There was a soft sigh of relief. “No… well, nothing major. Well… nothing major before you well… y’know.” Shiro forced a smile, as the silence continued. “So, what happened after? Mephisto gave me the gist of it, but I want to know how you were feeling…” Shiro then quickly added, “As long, as you’re okay with it.”

“It’s alright with me.” Yuri answered, letting out a chuckle. “I woke up in a lake, in the mountains, specifically. How I got there, makes no sense to me. But, I guess someone saved me, because I woke up in a hospital. From there I stayed with Sir Pheles. After that I read the archives and then I came here.” She explained. “I’m still getting used to it.”

“That’s under-” 

“Dad!” The twin’s called, before Shiro could finish. They both came closer to him. “We finished the dishes.”

Shiro gave Yuri an apologetic look, and turned to the boys. “Good job.” He grinned at them. “Now let’s get you two ready for bed. You have school tomorrow.” Once they were almost out of the kitchen, he turned back to Yuri. “I’ll show you where the guest bedroom is.”

———————————————————————————————————

As the boys were going to bed, Yuri laid in the guest bedroom. It wasn’t anything fancy, but she liked the simple look of it. It was cozy. As she began to settle in, she peeked in the closet. It started to dawn on her that she would have to go shopping at some point, wouldn’t she? After all, most people don’t save everything belonging to the dead. 

Once settled, she fell down onto the bed. There wasn’t much to do, so she figured it would be best to at least get some rest. 

That was easier said than done.

Yuri found herself looking back and forth around the room. First at the clock, then the ceiling, then the floor, then right back at the clock. She repeated this for a while. 

She shut her eyes, and clenched her fist in frustration. With so much on her mind, so many questions left to ask, trying to sleep felt futile. She really should’ve asked about Rick. How did he die? Did she even want to know the answer to that? And the Blue Night. Sir Pheles never got back to her on that. From the sound of it, Satan was involved, but what exactly happened?

Yuri released her fist, opened her eyes, and stared at the ceiling. She wasn’t going to get any answers tonight, so it wasn’t any use overthinking it. With a sigh, she gave up thinking about that. Instead, she thought about the boys. Something nicer. It was nice seeing both of her sons- seeing them alive and well. So why… 

Why did it hurt so much to see them? They were alive, well and seven years old. She clutched the pillow a little tighter, as a new set of questions approached her. When did they take their first steps? Did Rin or Yukio talk first? She held the pillow tighter. What were their first words? She took a hitched breath. When did they start school for the first time? Were they scared to go? Or were they excited? Yuri felt her lip start to tremble the more she thought about it. It just wasn’t fair.

Her thoughts though, were interrupted. Of all things, it was by the sound of crying. She turned her head in the direction of the noise. Inhaling, she slowly got up, and off the bed to come closer. The more she walked, the clearer it was. The crying was definitely coming from a child. Once at the bedroom door, she peered outward to see a boy outside of the bedroom. It had to have been one of her boys, but which one, she couldn’t tell. She turned and squinted to get a better view of him. It was Yukio. He had been holding his blanket, and a stuffed penguin. 

“Sorry,” he sniffled. “I wanted to see you again, but the hallway is scary.”

“Oh, I could turn on a light for you.” Yuri offered.

Yukio shook his head. “It’s not the dark.” He looked upward and considered his next words. “It’s the demons.”

Yuri blinked. “You mean the coal tars? It’s okay, they won’t hurt you.” She went down, and grabbed his hand. “But you can come in if you’d like.”

Yukio held his blanket and toy, and followed her inside. As they made their way to the bed he began to explain, “I really wanted to talk to you but, I can’t say this stuff in front of Rin.”

Yuri narrowed her brow, “Go on…”

Yukio crawled into the bed with Yuri, and sat on her lap. He turned towards Yuri and began. “Since you are my mom and all… can you tell me about my real parents?”

Yuri was taken back by his question, but nodded. It probably was for the best to let him ask away. “What do you want to know?”

The question hit Yukio hard. As much as he wanted to know, nothing came to mind. He looked past Yuri, blankly gazing at the bedframe. Then, his eyes met hers. “Why did you marry Satan? He’s evil and really mean. But you are so nice?”

Kids always had a way of blindly striking chords in people, and Yukio was no exception. In spite of her best efforts, Yuri’s expression fell. “It’s complicated.” She had to pause. Partially to keep her brave face, partially to find the words to describe it. 

Yukio saw her thinking, and began to feel guilty. “I’m sorry for asking.”

“No, no, it’s okay!” Yuri quickly reassured him. “There’s nothing to apologize for, sweetie. You’re nothing wrong with being a little curious.” 

Yukio was surprised by her reaction. Father Fujimoto normally would tell him to stop by now, but she didn’t. 

“Sometimes,” Yuri began, and she took a deep breath. Closing her eyes, she hoped this time she would be able to put it in words. “It’s worthwhile to try and see the good in people. Even some of the meanest people have a warm spot in them.” She frowned. “But sometimes, there isn’t any good in them. You can keep trying to find it, but they don’t want to find it themselves.”

Yuri was met with a dumbfounded Yukio. He did not expect that answer at all. If anything, it confused him more. It was quiet once more, and both of them sat in uncomfortable silence. Yukio played with the blanket, and Yuri watched him. 

“Miss- I mean Mom,” the word still felt quite unusual but Yukio didn’t mind calling her that. After all, she was his real mom. “Do you have a brother or a sister? Or is it just you?”

“I don’t have any siblings.” This question was a lot easier for her to answer. “But I used to have some really close friends growing up. And I was friends with your father for a long time.”

Yukio was confused. “Dad said he didn’t know you. He said he never met you.”

“He did?” Yuri’s eyes narrowed and Yukio nervously nodded in confirmation. “I don’t know why he told you that but I’ve known him since I was your age.”

Yukio stared at the ground with a blank face. He didn’t say anything for a minute. But then he moved onto his next question. 

“Why aren’t you scared of demons?”

Yuri gave him a wide smile. “Because I’m a tamer.”

Yukio’s eyes widened. “You’re a tamer? But demons are mean.”

“Maybe some of them are, but there are really nice ones too. And some demons just need someone to take the time to get to know them. Just like people.”

  
  


———————————————————————————————————

After a while, Yukio had gone through the bulk of his questions. He was mostly satisfied with the answers Yuri gave him, but one question still burned in Yukio’s mind. His mother seemed so sweet, but something kept bothering him. He lowered his voice, “Why did you leave us under a bridge?” He glanced down at the ground, and breathed. “And why did you come back now?”

Yuri froze. This was new information to her. “Left you?” She narrowed her eyebrows, and her eyes filled with panic and confusion. Yuri quickly held Yukio’s hand. “I’d never leave you guys like that…'' her voice was strong. “I couldn’t be with you for these last few years, and it hurt a lot. But I would never leave you guys like that.”

“But dad said he found us under a bridge!” Yukio quickly retorted. His response started with a raised voice, however it rapidly got softer. “And since you’re alive… that means you left us there, right?”

It was hard to see Yukio like this. Seeing her son- only seven filled with so much hurt and anger towards her, broke her heart. Even more than hurt though, Yuri felt anger. “Whatever your father said about me…” her words were sharp, and her fingers were clenched tight. She was near boiling, but she had to keep her composure for Yukio. “It wasn’t true.”

Yukio’s voice dropped with his face. The boy went pale, and he looked up at Yuri. “He lied again?” 

The words came out full of betrayal. Yuri was surprised to hear how angry he was, despite understanding completely. She reached her hands closer to him, “Yukio, sweetie-” 

“No! Stop it!” Yukio snapped at Yuri, as he hit her hands away from him. There wasn’t much venom behind it though, only sadness. “Dad is a liar.”

“He did lie.” Yuri said, firmly. She bit her lip as she tried to think of where to go with this thought. “But sometimes, people lie because they’re nervous about telling the truth. It’s not okay, and I’m sorry he lied to you.”

Yukio didn’t say much to that. He fiddled with his blanket, and gazed at the bed. There wasn’t anything he could think of to say. 

Yuri frowned. “I will try talking to him. He shouldn’t have lied to you.” Yuri debated holding his hand, but decided against it. Yukio didn’t want that right now. “But… he does love you.” She added.

“Um Mom…” Yukio finally spoke again. His voice wasn’t confident. “Is it okay, if I stop asking questions?”

“That’s okay.”

Leaning up to her, Yukio then asked. “Can you read me a story instead? I can’t go to bed without one, and it’s not the same when I read it.”

“I can do that.” She beamed at him. “Just show me where they are.”

———————————————————————————————————

Many stories later, Yuri felt a weight on her shoulder and looked downward with a smile. The boy was limp as his face and hand cuddled up into her shoulder.

Carefully, she wrapped her other arm underneath his legs and lifted him up into her arms. Resting him on her hip, she freed up a hand to grab his blanket and penguin. She proceeded to wrap the sleeping Yukio in it. With him comfortable, she moved out of the guest bedroom and into the hallway.

Yuri began to navigate the monastery in search of his bedroom. When she found some gashes in the wall right next to the door, she stopped. One side was labeled Rin and the other Yukio. She stared at it fondly for a while. The two of them have gotten so big over the years. 

Her hand then reached the nearby doorknob and turned it. Inside there was a bunk bed and a dresser. She reached down to give Yukio a kiss on his forehead, before placing him in the vacant top bunk. 

“Good Night, Yukio.” She whispered.

Then Yuri squatted down to the bottom bunk. There lay Rin, deep in sleep with eyes opened. She quietly giggled a little at how funny he looked, but landed a kiss on his forehead too.

“Good Night, Rin.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for taking so long to update, but I am alive! The chapter after this, I have already started, and I am really excited for that one. Thank you all so much for your support, it means a lot to me. I wanted to explore a little bit of Yuri's feelings since she finally got a chance to sit down now, as well as some things the twins have been feeling. This chapter ended up being longer than I expected, but I ended up liking it more than what I initially outlined.


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